Democracy index 2021 :EIU latest report
What is the news:
- The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its report on the state of democracy in 2021 across 165 independent countries and two territories.
- The report is based on five findings – electoral process and pluralism, functioning of the government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. The report has been further bifurcated into a full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime, and authoritarian.
Key highlights
- India ranked 46th under ‘flawed democracy’ by the EIU.
- Norway tops the list.
- Australia and Switzerland shared the 9th rank, this year.
- New Zealand replaced Iceland from the second slot this year.
- Afghanistan scored the least with 0.32.
- Earlier North Korea was at the bottom most position.
Overview:
- Since the year 2006, the Economist Intelligence has been bringing forth the state of democracy worldwide in around 165 independent nations and two territories through its democracy index.
- The last year’s democracy index was published on February 10, 2022. Like every other year, it is based on the clearly stated five categories, i.e. electoral process and pluralism, functioning of the government, political participation, political culture and last but not least, civil liberties.
- According to these categories, the list has been further bifurcated into three categories encompassing nations that enjoy full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime and authoritarian regime.
- India with a rank of 46 found its presence in the flawed democracy segment. If you are sad thinking about it, then you should also know that the USA has also been placed as a nation with flawed democracy. Our neighbour Pakistan has been placed further below in the hybrid regime with a rank of 104. But we are not here to discuss these countries.
ABOUT Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
- Founded- 1946
- Headquarters – London
- The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports.
- The EIU provides country, industry, and management analysis worldwide and incorporates the former Business International Corporation, a UK company acquired by its parent company in 1986.
- The EIU has several offices, including two in China and one in Hong Kong.
- Its Managing Director is Robin Bew, formerly the Editorial Director and Chief Economist.
About India’s scores:
India ranked 46 in the index. The overall score of India was 6.91. The individual scores of the country are as follows:
- Political Culture: 5
- Electoral process and Pluralism: 8.67
- Civil liberties: 6.18
- Political participation: 7.22
- Functioning of government: 7.5
Region – wise ranking
- North America was ranked at first position.
- North America was followed by Western Europe and Latin America in second and third position respectively.
- Asia was ranked at fourth position.
Democracy :
- Democracy is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (“direct democracy”), or to choose governing officials to do so (“representative democracy”).
- Who is considered part of “the people” and how authority is shared among or delegated by the people has changed over time and at different rates in different countries, but over time more and more of a democratic country’s inhabitants have generally been included.
- freedom of cornerstones of democracy include: assembly, association and speech, inclusiveness and equality, citizenship, consent of the governed, voting rights, freedom from unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty, and minority rights.
How does Democaracy work?
In a democratic country every member of the society is treated equally. That is, every individual has a right to vote and make decisions on who he/she wants as a leader. Representatives contest in elections and the person with “majority votes” is elected as a leader. Denying individuals and groups, the right to vote is contrary to the function of a democracy. In a democratic system of government, everyone’s vote has equal weight.
How is the Government of India formed under Democarcy?
We understand that, India is a fedral parliamentary democratic country. Government is formed by the union of 29 states and 7 union territories. It is composed of the executive, legislature and the judiciary. President of India is the head of the country and Prime Minister is the head of the government. The constitution defines the organizational powers and limitations of both central and state governments, and it is well-recognized, rigid and considered supreme. Indian Constitutions provides for an independent judiciary, which is headed by Supreme Court.
Parliament of India is bicameral in nature, consisting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The members of the parliament are elected by people by casting votes (to understand more about the Indian Parliament click here). The Indian Judiciary consists of various District Courts, 24 High Courts and the apex court called the Supreme Court.
Indian Democracy offers fundamental rights to all its citizens irrespective of their gender, caste, religion or creed. etc. It is also called as “Basic Human Rights”.
There are six fundamental rights:
- Right to Equality
- Right to Freedom
- Right against Exploitation
- Right to Freedom of Religion & Cultural
- Right to Education
- Right to Constitutional Remedies.
Pros of Indian Democracy:
- Citizens of India have the right to elect their leaders and this avoids the monopoly of authority.
- There is an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch. Each keeps the other in check because no single branch of government can wield all the power.
- Indian Democracy promotes equality irrespective of their caste, color, creed, religion, and gender.
- Leaders whom the citizens have elected will bring a feeling of obligations towards them. That is, they would act responsibly and work towards the betterment of the society.
- Citizens are aware of what’s going on politically. That is, during elections, political parties propose programs and policies in support of them and this imparts political consciousness among the people.
- It promotes for change without any violence. If the citizens of the country are not happy about the leaders leading them, they have the option to elect a different leader during the next elections.
Cons of Indian Democracy:
- There is a risk of choosing the wrong representative as a leader. People may favor and vote for a representative based on his/her caste, creed etc. Hence there are chances that the elected representative is not the right choice.
- Leaders are chosen based on quantity rather than quality. That is, the leader with a maximum number of votes will be chosen as the leader irrespective of his previous experience as a leader.
- Implementation of any law or plan takes long time to come into action. Since any law or action needs an approval from both the ruling party and the opposition in the parliament to get into action. It’s challenging to convince both the parties.
- Promises of leaders never come into action. During campaigns for elections, representatives of every constituency put forward promises to the people of that locality of certain works. But after getting elected, they never turn up to keep up with their words.
- Democracy influences candidates to indulge in corruption. Elected candidates might take advantage of their powers to resort to unethical means for personal gains and engage in corrupt practices.
